Forward Thinking
by Lord of the Magi
Summary: Not even the infamous Magus Killer could have done what he did without a few allies. What if Kiritsugu, knowing he didn't have long to live, arranged to have someone other than Taiga look after Shiro when he died. Can something as simple as planning for the future actually change it?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Forward Thinking**

"Shirō what's taking so long? You have been in there cooking for over an hour. I'm wasting away in here." The wining voice of one Taiga Fujimura came bursting forth from the dining room.

"Hold on Fuji-nee. I am just about finished, so try to be a little more patient. It's not like you are paying for your meals or anything." The young chef replied.

A few moments later the young chef came out of the kitchen carrying several of his specialty Japanese dishes. Taiga began to help herself to massive proportions the second the serving bowls hit the traditional low table. Just as he sat down to serve himself he felt a small pull on his mind alerting him that someone unfamiliar had just crossed the bounded field around the estate's property line. A few moments later sure enough someone started knocking at the front door, or trying to kick it down if the volume was anything to go by.

"I wonder who that could be at this hour. I told Gramps that I would be over here for a while tonight. Are you expecting anybody Shirō?" asked the spirited woman between bites. She somehow managed to remain able to speak clearly despite an almost constant stream of food entering her mouth.

"I don't think so but it could just be someone who got lost. I'll check it out; just try to leave something for me this time won't you?"

Shirō opened the door after the third round of increasingly loud knocking to reveal a tall blonde foreign looking woman standing with a slightly annoyed look on her face. It was the start of summer vacation and the nights were already getting warm so he was mildly surprised to see that the woman was wearing a long brown coat over the rest of her very casual looking and decidedly not Japanese clothes. He also noticed that she was carrying a large duffle bag over one shoulder.

"Is this the Emiya residence?" Her accent was rough and had a very minor drawl to it but was otherwise easy enough to understand.

"Yes this is. I am Emiya Shirō can I help you?"

"I sure hope you can. My name is Amelia Incantatorius; I have a package that I am supposed to give you." She fished around in her pockets for a moment before handing the younger boy a slightly crumpled manila envelope that felt like it contained several papers.

"You can look over the details later but the general point of what it says is that regardless of what we want, we will be living together for the next few years. Apparently your dad was friends with my old man and they worked out a contract to look after the other's kids should one of them die. Since your dad passed away recently, the contract got activated. Due to unforeseen circumstances my father couldn't come all the way out to Japan himself so as the next closest of age family member it became my duty to look after you. At least until you are eighteen that is. I am your new legal guardian"

To the boy's credit he didn't freak out like the woman more than half expected or slam the door in her face. Instead he nervously glanced over his back towards the dining room.

"That sounds like something dad would do." He said more to himself than to the person in front of him. "I guess that means that your first task as my guardian would be explaining this to Fuji-nee. She's eating right now so you might actually have a chance."

"I didn't think that Kiritsugu had any children other than you. I wasn't told that I would have to look out for your sister too."

"Well, she's not really my sister. She was friends with my dad for years before he died. She and her grandfather help look after the day to day matters of his estate until I am old enough to manage things myself. It's not official but for now she is my guardian when not off at the university."

"That actually works out pretty well then. I was worried that you had somehow been living alone for the last few months and would need some time to adjust to having someone around to tell you not to stay up all night, or get to school on time, or eat properly." Shirō sweat dropped.

"I guess it is me you will be helping out after all. Those are all things that Fuji-nee needs to work on though. Sometimes I wonder who is looking out for whom."

"Great, and here I was thinking that this was going to be a pretty cushy gig if you already had another guardian and all, but from what it sounds like you spend more time looking after her than you do just being a kid. Don't worry I am sure she and I can come to an agreement where we share helping you when needed and you can have a little more time to be a normal teenage boy." She gave the younger boy a nudge and a wink to punctuate her statement.

"Normal would be nice," Shirō deadpanned. _'My dad was a magus and I kinda am; My old guardian is a mildly childish freeloading kendo master with a tendency to attack first and ask later; and now I have a new guardian arranged by my now dead father who could be a pervert.'_

With a mild sigh of resignation, Shirō lead the foreign woman into the house. He had to remind her to take off her boots and place them by his and Taiga's shoes but other than that she seemed to have Japanese manners down to a rough approximation. He showed her into the dining room and set her a place at the table across from his other guardian who had apparently not noticed the new arrivals in her quest to devour everything on the table.

Having already eaten but not wanting to be rude Amelia took a small helping of the various dished laid out on the table. It wasn't until she and Taiga tried to go for the same dumpling that the younger woman finally took notice to the unfamiliar presence.

"Shirō who is this lady, and why is she stealing my dumpling?" Taiga asked while giving the newcomer a look between curiosity and loathing, the deciding factor being who would wind up with the tasty morsel currently being held by two sets of chopsticks.

"I assume that you must be the sister figure that Shirō mentioned. My name is Amelia Incantatorius and I am Shirō's new legal guardian." Using the shock factor she had created Amelia popped the tasty morsel into her mouth with a slightly smug smile.

"Alright missy you had better start explaining yourself really quick. If you are playing some trick to take advantage of Shirō's naivety and kindness you had best run while you can," the Tiger of Fuyuki practically growled.

"It's a pretty complicated story and my Japanese isn't all that great with the technical terms but I can at least explain the basic situation." The foreigner took a sip of tea to was down the dumpling and drag out the other woman's aggravation just a bit further.

***BREAK***

"Let me see if I understand everything you just said," Taiga said with uncharacteristic calm. "Kiritsugu made a deal with your father to raise each other's kids if anything happened to them. Unfortunately your father got called away on an unavoidable and prolonged business assignment leaving their agreement to be fulfilled by someone else related to and trusted by at least one of them." Amelia nodded. "And now due to the wording of the contract you have to look after Shirō unless you want to pay something like 100 million Yen to the Emiya estate."

"That pretty much sums up the basics of our situation here. There are a few more details that Shirō and I are going to have to work out over the next few days like living arrangements and other minor issues. For instance if this was a typical meal I will happily leave the kitchen to you, but I am a passable cook and wouldn't mind helping out as needed." The blonde noticeably relaxed at what she thought was a peaceful coming to terms.

"Hold on a minute! Do you really think that I am going to let some foreigner waltz in here and take over Shirō's life without a fight? If you do then you are sadly mistaken," yelled the raging tiger.

Amelia set down the teacup she had been sipping from allowing a small frown to grace her features. "I am afraid that my family cannot afford to back out of this contract Miss Fujimura so we are going to have to come to an agreement one way or another." All emotion had left the foreigner's voice.

"In that case I challenge you to a duel! The winner gets to be Shirō's guardian while the other has to leave in shame." Taiga adopted a very smug look and somehow produced her favorite weapon out of thin air. The sword let a small amount of blood-lust leak out towards its next target. Taiga half hoped that the stranger would turn out to be a coward much like many of the others she had challenged with her favorite weapon.

"This is acceptable to me. As the challenged party it is my honor to pick the terms of this duel. As such I believe that with practice weapons we shall engage one another to either surrender or unconsciousness."

Finally shaken out of the stupor that Fuji-nee's outburst had caused Shirō made himself know again.

"Hold on a second. Are you sure that there isn't any way to resolve this issue peacefully? I read the copy of the contract she gave me and as far as I can tell this really is what dad wanted," Shirō pleaded.

"Be quiet Shirō you don't know what you are talking about. Just let your big sister get rid of this interloper, and then we can have desert." Taiga gave the younger boy a light rap on the head with her weapon when he tried to get up.

Taiga was long past the point of reason as she focused in on the rush of an oncoming match. Amelia on the other hand calmly went over to the corner where she had set down her bag and started taking out a number of items until she finally pulled out three long narrow bundles of cloth, one crimson, one white and a final cobalt one. With almost the same care as a mother with a new-born child she set aside two of the bundles and carefully unwrapped the white one.

As the last fold of cloth dropped away, both Shirō and Taiga stopped what they were doing to get a better look at the object in her hands. In her hands was the most beautiful sword either of them had ever laid eyes on. The scabbard was made of white gold inlaid with a number of fine symbols and runes made of tiny rubies and sapphires. The cross-guard and pommel were much simpler made of the same material as the scabbard with a dark chocolate brown wrapping over the hilt making simple easy flowing curves. Something about that blade called out to an otherwise dormant part of Shirō's innermost being.

"This is the only blunted weapon that I currently have in my possession so I guess it will have to do. If you would like to step outside Miss Fujimura we can begin at your leisure." Sword in hand she started walking towards the front door.

"Hang on now you can't use a real sword against her. That wouldn't be fair at all." Shirō yelled at the foreign woman as she was leaving.

"I said it isn't sharp, that makes it a practice weapon. The worst thing that will happen is a broken bone or two. If she was worried about being injured she should not have challenged a complete stranger to a fight."

"I said no! I get that Fuji-nee can be a bit stubborn at times but she is the closest thing I have left to family so I won't let you hurt her." Both of the older women had the dignity to at least look ashamed of how they had acted. The sincerity may be questionable but at least an effort was made. Taiga made a token effort to hide her shinai behind her back while Amelia casually leaned on her sword while reevaluating her opinion of the boy in front of her.

"It is not every day that I get out argued by a middle school kid. Miss Fujimura, Mister Emiya, I think that we have gotten off to a bad start. I would rather not make meaningless excuses for my actions when I am the one mostly in the wrong, so instead please accept my sincere apologies for my lapse in manners. You let me into your home and fed me the best Japanese styled meal I have ever tasted and all I have done is cause trouble."

"I am not willing to go away at this point but if you want Shirō I can easily go get a hotel room and come back in a few days. Whatever you decide pleas take some time to look over the rest of those papers with Miss Fujimura tonight."

"If you are supposed to be my new guardian it wouldn't be right to make you waste money on a hotel room. There is a small western styled guest house out back that you are welcome to stay in. Just follow the hallway to the back door and it is off to the left."

"You are every bit as kind and forgiving as your father used to say. Hopefully we can get off to a better start in the morning." With the same level of care that she had previously employed, Amelia replaced all of the items back into her bag and disappeared down the hallway.

"Shirō, I know you are possibly the world's nicest kid but do you really think that we can trust some strange woman with a sword to have free reign of this place? Your dad left you a lot of valuable items. What if she is here to rob you or even kill you while you sleep? You are only thirteen after all." Taiga said after she heard the sliding back door open and close.

"I don't know why but I have a pretty good feeling that she isn't here to hurt us in any way. Other than to get on your nerves that is." Shirō didn't like having to keep secrets from his big sister figure but he could hardly just tell her that the magical barrier around his house told him that the strange new woman was at least peaceful.

"Poo Shirō is so mean to me after such a traumatic encounter."

"Weren't you the one that challenged her to a fight in the first place Fuji-nee?"

"That's not important right now. What is important is finding out what is in that envelope she gave you. Go on and open it up!"

With another small sigh of resignation Shirō decided to not try and fight her on this issue. Picking the thick envelope up from the counter he carefully tore the seal off and removed a small stack of papers. He set the papers on the table and went to set the original envelope aside when a much smaller envelope slid out of it. Trading the larger for the smaller he noticed that it had his name and the words "read first" on the front.

"What's that Shirō?" the overly curious young woman asked from her spot over the boy's shoulder.

"I don't know it looks like a letter from my dad."

_Dear Shirō, _

_If you are reading this letter then I am no longer with you. You have been my single greatest redemption over these last five years. I am not sure how much you may have picked up recently but I have been dying since before I adopted you. At the end of something called the Grail War, which I regretfully never told you about, I was cursed by a presence that had corrupted the grail sometime during the war before mine. I left you my note over what the Grail War was and how I was involved in the package that should be with this letter. I had a chance to obtain the grail but rejected it when I discovered the darkness within that could only cause pain and misery. In a final attempt to spare the world the terror of such evil I destroyed the grail instead. The rejection lead to my being cursed and my destroying the grail lead to the fire that destroyed a large part of the city. I know that you may never forgive me for what I have done and I wouldn't deserve it if you did. _

_Something that I have never told you is exactly what I did in my pursuit of becoming an ally of justice. I killed a great number of people so that more could live. One to save ten, ten for a hundred and so on, many of which I was forced to write off as collateral damage in order to take out the other monsters of the world. I was once known as the Magus Killer by a large number of the other magi in the world, especially those associated with the Clock Tower. Unfortunately I made a great deal of enemies in doing this and some of them could conceivably try to get back at me through you even though I will already be long dead. With that all being said I have set some things in motion that should help you to have the best life possible. One of the few friendly alliances I have made in my travels is with an American clan of enchanters who have their own list of complaints with most magi associated with the Clock Tower. One of these men has agreed to take over raising you after I pass. The exact details are not important but there should be a copy of the contract enclosed in the same envelope that the Grail notes are in. There is a geis on the contract to make sure that it is upheld on both ends. _

_I am sure that Taiga is nearby if not reading this over your shoulder. Do not worry about her finding out about magic. There is a mild hypnosis spell on this paper that displays a similar message without any mention of magic to those without any magic circuits. The same goes for all my notes related to magic. I understand that she has by now taken on the role of stand in guardian in my absences and will probably be doing the same after I am gone. The agreement that I have with the Incantatorius family will not force her out of your life._ _She will continue to be a welcome part of your life. Unfortunately I do not know exactly which member of the family will be looking after you since all of my dealings have been with Theodore Incantatorius the current head of the family. Ideally he would be the one to look after you but since I requested that you stay in Japan he may delegate the duty to someone else in the clan that he can trust with his life. I say life because one of the constituencies in the contract states that there is a death penalty if he or one of his family members causes you intentional lasting harm. As long as he doesn't send his eldest daughter you will be in good hands. If she is the one to take up your guardianship be sure to keep your guard up she can be a bit …energetic…_

**A/N: I have been out of the swing of things for a while but this plot bunny latched on to my brain and would not let go until I typed out a prologue/ teaser. There seems to be a popular trend going around changing some little thing with Shirō's life before the grail war and following the butterfly's flap until the tsunami hits somewhere around the actual war. My preferred view on how magic works is very different from the Fate system. I am partially writing this in an attempt to blend my ideas into Nasuverse without pissing off those who are a bit less forgiving of tweaking an already great set of magical parameters. Could be fun and could be a horrible idea, only time will tell. **


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I normally do not put these notes before the new chapter but I would like to vent something before getting on with your regularly scheduled broadcasting. I don't mind negative reviews. As a matter of fact I encourage them because they let me know where I need to improve something. What I do not particularly care for are troll comments or under thought out insults. If you want to tell me that you hate what I wrote and that it is "worthless" feel free to give me your best shot, just don't make yourself look like an idiot in the process. An effective insult would ideally put a little more effort into breaking down the author's will to write. The most effective route would be to zero in on what the author is most likely to have the most pride and emotional attachment to in the piece. For example you could argue that my OC is nothing but a Saber knockoff. A blonde foreigner with a sword waltzes in and changes Shirō's life; that is a painfully easy target. Not an effective one because I would expect something like this to happen but still better than nothing. Long story short I like reviews because they are the closest thing to payment I get for writing this, but if you are going to take the time to write a negative review take a little more time and keep it from making you look like an idiot.

**Chapter Two: Settling In**

Shirō woke up well after his usual early time mostly due to how late he had stayed up with Taiga looking over the documents Amelia had given him from his father. Most of it was pretty normal information and documents like bank account information and property deeds. Since Taiga's grandfather already had copies of everything he had set those documents aside in favor of two much more abnormal sets of papers. The first was the contract that started the whole chain of events and the second was a loosely bound collection of handwritten notes over basic magecraft and more importantly the Grail war.

Finding out that the man you idolized and vowed to emulate was a cold blooded killer tends to rattle most people. Finding out that he was part of a secret war that ultimately destroyed the better part of the town you lived in would push nearly anybody over the top. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it Shirō had become far too distorted to crack under such pressures. Instead he decided to redeem his father's name by becoming the hero his dad has so wanted to be.

That was a matter that could be worked on in the future though. For the time being what Shirō felt that he really needed after having so many bombshells dropped on him the night before was some kitchen therapy time. Too bad for the boy fate had decided long ago that it wouldn't be cutting him any breaks. Instead of finding his sanctuary open and inviting at what was still a fairly early time for most people, he found his newest boarder dancing about the kitchen in what could only be called clothes in the loosest definition of the term. The attractive young woman was juggling several pans about wearing only an extremely form fitting t-shirt and a set of shorts that left little to the imagination. Even with her hair just in a loose ponytail she made for a much more stimulating sight that the poor kid was used to. Shirō may be a mature kid but he is still a pubescent male. A slight nose bleed joined the twitch that had started in his left eye.

A couple minutes after Shirō stumbled across the desecration of his sanctuary the vandal in question finally noticed her captive audience.

"Good morning Shirō!" She greeted with unnatural perkiness for 0700. "I'm glad you are an early riser too that'll make things easier when school starts up again for you. I'm just about done with breakfast so just grab a seat at the table and leave everything up to me. Since we got off to such a rocky start I wanted to try and make things up to you. I brought a few things with me from home so I decided to whip you up a proper breakfast as an apology."

Still in shock Shirō took his place at the table on auto pilot. Shortly thereafter Amelia came out of the kitchen carrying no less than six large platters.

"I didn't know what you like for breakfast so I made a bit of everything. There are pancakes with maple syrup, ham-steaks, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, hashbrowns, biscuits, and of course bacon. Go on and dig in before it gets cold." Not waiting for him to respond the temporary chef dove in to what she considered her personal masterpiece.

Shirō had always thought that the things some of his classmates said about Americans were horribly exaggerated. He had been willing to accept that people from such a large and diverse country would not have the same traditions as he does but his new guardian was apparently trying to prove several of the more outlandish American stereotypes. The boy prided himself on not being a picky eater but it was beyond the young chef how she intended for him to eat such a heavy meal so early in the morning. There didn't seem to be a single thing on the table that wasn't practically swimming in grease, cholesterol, and or fat. More surprising was how much the woman in question was managing to put away. Taiga is pretty much the only other female figure he has had any experience with at the dinner table and this woman was putting the latter to shame. He could only assume that these two were exceptions to the rule and not how all women their age acted and ate. As much as he overheard the girls in his grade level and above talk about working to maintain figures these two had to be exceptions.

Strange women aside he couldn't in good conscience let food go to waste. He helped himself to smaller portions of everything that was in front of him. His plate was full to over flowing by the time he had served himself a very small portion of each dish contained. By that time he realized that this was going to be a completely western style breakfast down to having to use knife and fork instead of chopsticks. He gave the foreigner a questioning look as he took the knife and fork next to his plate in hand. For whatever reason she had set the table with highly ornate and possibly expensive utensils instead of the plain simple set that his father had kept around for the rare times that they ate a western style meal.

"Your dad mentioned that you like cooking the one time I met him so I thought it would be a nice gesture to make you a custom cutlery set." The woman across from Shirō explained when she noticed the confused look on his face when regarding the utensils. "Is there something wrong with them? If there is let me know and I can probably have a new set finished in about a week."

"No it's nothing like that!" the overly polite boy stammered. "It's just that I don't use western utensils very often or have a breakfast with this many calories. Typically I have a fairly traditional Japanese breakfast. It may just be the fact that I am not used to them but these utensils also just "feel" a bit different for some reason." The younger boy stammered and blushed slightly. Then the tail end of what she said finally sunk in. "Wait! Did you say that you made these things yourself?"

"My family has centuries of cutting edge metallurgy and metal working ability in its history. Would you expect that the eldest daughter of this generation would not learn the trade? Are you trying to say that because I am a girl I should stick to working with kitchen tools instead of making them?" The young woman leaned across the table to better confront the poor kid.

"N-not at all… I just meant that it must have taken a lot of work for something that you just gave me."

Not able to hide her mirth any longer the blonde broke out laughing.

"I'm only teasing you kid. I know you don't know anything about me or my family yet like I barely know anything about you. I heard you like to cook so I took a couple days to make you a small gift to thank you for letting me be part of your family even if neither of us really had a choice in the matter. As for why they feel weird to you I honestly couldn't tell you unless you are crazy sensitive to magical items."

"I don't know." He said pensively while looking at the ornate pieces of metal in his hands. "My dad only really taught me reinforcement magic. I've never actually seen a real magic item before… Wait is it even ok to eat with a magic item?"

"Sure thing, the enchantments on the silverware are really basic. All I did to them was make them more durable and impervious to tarnishing so you don't have to polish them. I happen to have several more powerfully enchanted items that I'll let you take a look at sometime later. For right now dig into your so called "high calorie" breakfast. I'm not half the cook you are judging from what you cooked last night but at least nothing's burnt. Speaking of high calorie what happened to Miss Fujimura after I left? I made extra assuming that she was going to be here watching me."

"After we looked over most of the papers that my dad left me in that package she decided that you weren't likely to be a threat to me, but she still wanted to make sure this wasn't a really elaborate hoax so she said something about having her grandfather's men look you up today. Whatever that means."

"They aren't likely to find anything useful, but whatever helps her sleep at night." She said with a noncommittal shrug.

"If memory serves you still have another week until your school starts up again. What do you do for fun?"

"This is a really big house for just one person so I usually spend part of the morning after breakfast doing chores around the house, then I make a quick lunch before heading off to the part time job that I got to help with expenses around here." The blonde haired woman barely managed to keep from face palming.

"While those are all admirable things for someone your age to be doing I think you may have missed out on the whole "fun" aspect of my question. Don't you spend time with your friends or play video games, or flirt with girls?" This time it was the younger person's turn to be caught off guard.

"No not really. I only have a couple of friends and they are usually bust with their own business outside of school. As for girls and video games I just never really had much of an interest in pursuing either when there are so many other things I have to do in a day."

"Then why have the job? I've seen the estate records; your dad left you a not so small fortune. If you are even a little careful with your money you wouldn't have to work a day in your life. Heck with a little investment over time you can have half a dozen kids and set them up pretty well as well and still not have to worry. All the money that Taiga's family has spent on you has been your own money." From the wide eyed look on the boy's face this may have been news to him.

"I still don't want to be a burden on anyone and I like helping the people at the shop. Just because my dad left me money doesn't mean that I shouldn't try to make my own way."

"I understand that but as your new legal guardian I think I am going to have to ask you to quit your job until you are at least 16. If you really want to help someone so bad you can help me clear away the dishes and show me around the town for today. I have some people that I need to talk to and I can't read Kanji to save my ass."

"That's not fair! I don't see how helping people is such a bad thing. Why does it matter what I do in my free time?"

"Easy there kid. I didn't say that helping people was a bad thing, but now that I am here I can help you out so that you can have a more normal life. If someone asks you for help and they want to pay you for it that's fine, I just don't think you need the regulations and restrictions of an actual job just yet. I only met your dad once about a year ago but he didn't really come off as the nurturing father type. I am mildly surprised that the only issue you seem to have developed is a slight fun deficiency."

"Gee Thanks." Shirō deadpanned.

"You're welcome," was her overly bubbly response. "When we finish with breakfast I'll get changed into something a bit more publically presentable and we can head out. Does that work for you?"

"Do I actually have a choice?" He half mumbled.

"Not really but I am told that teenagers are less likely to rebel if you let them think that they have a choice in the matter."

***BREAK***

Almost an hour later the pair left the front gate of the Emiya estate with no real destination in mind. Amelia had simply asked Shirō to show her the important locations in town and the basic layout while she got used to the area, so that is what he was going to do. He started out walking her around the Miyamachou district of the city pointing out things like where his school is located, the shopping street, and the general direction of the temple which was too far to swing by if they wanted to get around the whole town before dark.

At the insistence of the older member of the duo they stopped in town to buy something to eat instead of returning all the way to the Emiya estate for lunch. Shirō tried to argue against what he called an unnecessary expense but failed miserably when he came against the all too familiar wrath of a hungry woman. Once the older woman decided that it was lunch time she quite literally dragged Shirō into the first restaurant they found. The Koushuuensaikan, Taizan the only Chinese restaurant in town, it's known by most that live there for serving inedible spicy foods. Ignoring the protests from a slightly fearful Shirō Amelia took seats at a table near a man who looked to be in his early thirties wearing a black priest's uniform. When the waitress came to take their order the blonde pointed to the dish in front of the priest looking man and asked for two of the same.

The waitress walked away with a look of mild surprise the woman walked off muttering something about crazy foreigners and their death wishes.

Amelia and Shirō made small talk with each other while they waited for their meal to show up. The priest paid for his meal in the meantime and made to leave the restaurant. He stopped as he was passing the pair when he overheard part of their conversation.

"I am terribly sorry to interrupt your conversation but did I hear you correct when you said that you were looking to get in contact with the current head of the Tohsaka family?" He asked in an eerily silky voice.

"As a matter of fact I am. I am new here in town and as such I am trying to establish some new contacts for the ones that I lost. An associate of mine recommended that I talk to the Tohsaka head as soon as possible."

"Then the lord must look upon you with favor. My name is Kirei Kotomine. I am Miss Tohsaka's guardian." The blonde noticeably perked up slightly

"Nice to meet you Mister Kotomine my name is Amelia Incantatorius and this is my ward Shirō. If you are in no hurry please join us and feel free to order yourself some tea or anything else you like. It looks like our meal has just arrived."

"I was not aware that there were many others who appreciated properly spicy food like me in this town." Kirei commented when he saw that the unfamiliar pair had ordered the same Mapo Doufu dish that he had recently finished. Deciding to find out what the pair wanted with his charge, he took the strange woman up on her offer and ordered a pot of tea.

"Honestly I had no idea what I was ordering." Shirō face faulted at hearing the woman's confession. "I just figured that the food would come out quicker if I ordered something that they had just made for someone else." She punctuated her sentence by happily taking a bite. Much to the surprise of both Kirei and Shirō the blonde did not start belching flames. Instead she made the entire serving disappear with the same quickness that she had demonstrated the night before and that morning.

Shirō did not fare so well. After seeing Amelia devour something that even Fuji-nee couldn't eat his courage rose enough to take a bite. One was more than enough to make him feel like he had just tried to lick a hot frying pan.

"How do you eat that stuff? I feel like my mouth is on fire after one bite." The younger kid asked the two adults at the table.

"Really, I didn't really think that it was all that hot. The five alarm chili that grand-dad makes is worse than this. If you don't want it I'll eat yours and you can order something else."

Not having to be told twice the boy pushed the bowl across the table and watched as it rapidly disappeared.

"I think I'll just wait till I get home to make something else. I'm still not all that hungry after that monster breakfast."

"Suit yourself kid, but I don't want to hear you whining later about being hungry." She happily downed her second serving before finally turning her attention back to the third person at the table.

"I am sorry for ignoring you Father Kotomine. I tend to be easily distracted when hungry." The Priest gave a polite nod and a gesture to continue

"You said that the Tohsaka heir is in your care. Does that mean that he is still a minor?"

"Indeed. Rin is about the same age as your young charge here. Don't let that discourage you though SHE is a very bright and responsible girl. She has also already capable of dealing with most legal matters that you may wish to discuss with her. My only real job is to be a mentor and an official signatory when needed."

"I suppose that'll have to do. Do you thing that you could get her to give me a call sometime in the next few days to discuss a few business related ventures?"

"I believe that I can do you one better. I was actually on my way to check in on the girl to make sure that she was keeping up with her studies. If you would like you may join me and talk to her then."

"I would hate to impose on either of you. I really do not mind waiting for a more convenient time."

"It will be no trouble. Like I said I was already on my way over to her home so it is of no inconvenience to me and Rin is expecting me so she should not be too busy either. Besides I have to thank you for paying for my tea. I prefer to not leave any debt unpaid."

"Very well then I'll just pick up the check and we can be on our way." She looked at the bill that the waitress had left, winced slightly as she did the dollar to yen conversion, left an appropriate number of bills and stood to follow the priest.

"Um Miss Incantatorius what about seeing the other half of the town, shouldn't we wait to see if Tohsaka is willing to have visitors over before we just show up?"

"First off Shirō Miss Incantatorius is too long and formal. Why not call me Ami-nee instead." The boy shyly nodded. "Secondly if Mr. Kotomine is wrong and we do prove to be an imposition to the girl we can always apologize and leave for another time. It would be foolish to pass up a fortuitous meeting like this."

"If you two are done whispering we should really be going. I do have other matters to attend to after looking in on my charge."

"My apologies Father please lead the way."

***BREAK***

"It's about time you showed up you fake priest. What is the meaning of making me wait for half an hour?" It was a rather annoyed Rin Tohsaka that answered the door to her supposed guardian and mentor.

"Rin it is very unladylike of you to speak in such tones when you have company."

"How is this any different than how I usually talk to you? I only put up with you because I have to and the same goes for you towards me. As soon as I finish the training you have for me we will have no reason to even talk this much if I have anything to say about it."

"While I would enjoy continuing this senseless trading of insults with you, our regular lessons will have to be postponed for today. There are a couple of people here to see you for what they say is business related to your family."

Peeking around her stoic guardian the girl finally noticed the two people standing behind him and slightly off to one side. One of them was a boy around her own age that looked Japanese despite the red hair. The other one was a rather tall foreign woman. At a first glance the woman looked to be around 175 centimeters if not a little more. Realizing that she didn't have to worry about ruining her school idol persona in front of the boy she decided to go ahead and continue with her true personality.

"What kind of business could they have with me that you would bring them here instead of having me come out to your church?" The girl skeptically asked her so called guardian.

"You would have to ask them yourself. I just overheard them mention your family name while I was having lunch today." The girl twitched slightly at his comment much to the priest's amusement.

"You brought over a couple of complete strangers to do business with your underage impressionable female charge? Are you insane?"

"True but I feel that they can handle themselves well enough for an hour or so. Unless you would like me to stay longer I will take my leave. I will return at the usual time to resume your studies and dispose of the bodies if necessary."

Contrary to what the priest and the girl seemed to think Shirō and Amelia could hear everything they were saying. After the last comment they couldn't be sure if the other pair was joking with each other or if they were truly insane. The answer would bear further deliberation because the young home owner finally decided to give them her full attention.

"I am Rin Tohsaka the current head of my family. What business do you have with me?" The young twin pigtailed girl snapped with just a bit of ice.

Shirō was taken aback by how standoffish the girl was being. He didn't recognize her from school despite appearing to be around the same age so she either attended the other school in town or was home schooled. Given that the man who brought them here had spoken briefly about lessons, he decided to lean more towards the latter idea. Which brings up the question of what kind of business did Ami-nee have with the very cute but otherwise rude girl, what kind of authority could this Tohsaka girl have over a person from half a world away?

"My name is Amelia Incantatorius the pleasure is all mine I'm sure." The blonde stepped forward and introduced herself to the younger Raven haired beauty. "Before we discuss anything else I apologize for my rudeness but I need you to tell me what the terms Second Owner, Clock Tower, and workshop mean to you." The woman's normally cheery voice lost much of its emotion and became mildly cold.

Both the priest and the girl immediately caught on to what kind of business this woman wanted to talk about. Not wanting to risk being overheard by any passer-by the girl ushered the strangers into her home. Despite being a fairly large house, the group came to a stop in the manor's formal sitting room very shortly. Kirei truthfully did not have any other meetings today so he decided to watch this increasingly interesting scene unfold. If anyone asked he could just tell them that he felt that guarding his charge from an unknown magus is of greater importance than whatever meeting he may have had. Odds are Gilgamesh would rather not be bothered anyway.

"Alright I'm only going to ask this once. Who are you, what do you know, why are you in my territory, and who gave you my name?" The girl did her best to only look pissed and not show the fear that she currently felt.

"Since you seem to have freaked out over those words, I feel that I would be safe to assume that you are in fact a Magus Miss Tohsaka. Am I at all incorrect this assumption?"

The girl made to start up a tirade only to be halted by a glare from the older woman and a hand motion from the priest.

"That is correct." The now quelled girl answered.

"Good now next question. Are you the current second owner of the lands around Fuyuki City?"

"I inherited the entire Tohsaka estate after my parents passed away a few years ago. Currently this fake priest here manages my affairs, poorly I might add, but I am the owner. Now stop stalling and answer my questions!" Despite the subtle reining of the priest the girl was starting to show some of her street and discomfort through her icy façade.

"That is all I needed to know. To make you feel more at ease I can tell you that I am only here to look after Shirō here. His father was an acquaintance of my father's and has recently passed on. There was an agreement between the two to help put with the other's children if the need should arise. Since my father was unable to meet his end of the agreement because of other matters, I got stuck with the job. As to why we are sitting here now though, I am here on behalf of the Incantatorius family's interests. I have been sent to find you and request permission to set up a set of workshops for myself and my charge Shirō. Where I come from there are no such things as second owners or any other figures to answer to when setting up a workshop on our own property, but since I am a guest in this country I was told to play nice and follow the rules. Forming favorable relations with an influential family in the region doesn't hurt either." The older woman's voice carried a clear message that she really did see this as little more than a formality but still did not want to cause too many waves.

The young Tohsaka heiress knew that she had to be careful with how she continued from here on. Near as she could tell the stranger in front of her had been at least mostly truthful with what she had said. As a Magus she would be a fool to think that she had been told the whole story but for the most part she hadn't been lied to either. While she really didn't like the thought of another magus family moving in on her territory having an ally that doesn't seem to be controlled by the Clock Tower could possibly prove to be advantageous. She may even be able to get back some of the holdings that that idiot of a fake priest had lost while in control.

"What kind of workshop do you want to set up in this city and where would it be located? I will not allow anyone, especially not a foreigner, to come in and cause harm to the people that live here."

"Hmm it seems that my family name does not carry quite the infamy here in Japan that it does back in Europe." Amelia said more to herself than anyone else in the room. I won't tell you the specifics but my families practice revolves around crafting items from various metals, specifically mythic code weapons. For those who can pay the price our services deserve that is. As such I just want to be left to my work and be left alone by you should you sense any rather large prana bursts. Last thing that I need is to have the Clock Tower come nosing around where they're not wanted." The young Tohsaka heiress looked pensive as she worked through what the woman had just requested.

"Before I pass judgment one way or another, you have said what you would be doing in your workshop but what about his?" She asked pointing to Shirō.

"W-well I am really just a novice. Most of what I work on right now is reinforcement magic and structural analysis. I'm not even very good at that anyway."

The younger girl stared at the boy for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

"What kind of third rate magus is already in their teens without having mastered something so basic? You barely even rate as a magus at all if that is all you can do."

"I might remind you that he has not had the privilege of constant instruction like you have. His father died recently and was terminally ill for nearly five years before that. Please show some respect to others Miss Tohsaka." The boy's new guardian did not raise her voice but that fact did not diminish the force of her words any.

"Since it does not seem that your work will affect the people of my city, I see no reason to not be gracious and grant you your request to establish a workshop within my territory Miss Incantatorius. There are a couple of stipulations though. Ten percent of any profits you make from using your craft here will be paid to my estate as a usage right. You will not reveal your practice to anyone not already knowledgeable about it. Finally you must allow me to periodically inspect the area around your workshop to make sure that these rules are being upheld."

"That sounds fair enough Miss Tohsaka. I have a counter stipulation or two to add though. In exchange for receiving a share of the profits I may or may not make off of my work, you must join us for dinner at least twice a month to aid Shirō in magecraft basics. I am not aware of his element yet but I do not think that I will be able to teach him my family's magic simply because it is so different from most lines. After that I would like it if you would just call me Amelia or Ami. Miss Incantatorius is far too tedious for everyday use." The poor younger girl seemed to have been caught completely off guard by the woman's counter requests. Unable to form a proper counter argument she decided to slump down in one of the plush chairs across from the smiling blonde.

"I believe that her offer might work out to be in your favor Rin," commented the silky toned priest. "While you are doing well in your studies, it might be a good thing to try working with someone your own age even if he is a complete novice."

"Easy there Father. Just because I won't slap the girl for picking on Shirō doesn't mean I won't give you a beating you won't soon forget." Ami playfully cracked her knuckles on her left hand.

"Now now my dear there is no need to get violent. I was merely saying that both students would benefit from each other's company."

"Honestly I care little for whether they progress as magi or not. I just think that she is a total cutie and Shirō really needs to start thinking about girls."

All three other members in the room stuttered at the same time at the woman's unashamed honesty.

"As a matter of fact if the two of you would like, why not come over tonight for dinner? Shirō is an excellent cook and the young lady here can see that I am not about to try and blow up the city any time soon." '_At least not intentionally.'_

"I am afraid that I am going to be unable to make it tonight seeing that this surprise meeting has put me far behind schedule." The priest falsely explained.

"I suppose that it is better to go ahead and get this out of the way. I will draft up a contract for you to sign by this evening. If there is nothing else, I now have much to do and little time to do it in." Standing the young woman motioned to show her "guests" to the door.

"Excellent. Here is the address. See you around seven." Ami scribbled down the address for the Emiya estate onto a scrap of paper she found in one of her pockets

Shortly thereafter the pair was ushered out of the Tohsaka estate by the home owner. As soon as they were on the porch the door slammed shut behind them and locked with an audible click. Shrugging off the obvious rudeness Ami dragged her resigned charge back towards the shopping street to prepare for the company they were due to have that evening.

Back inside the western styled manor an irate girl looked up at her supposed mentor and scowled.

"Just so you know, I blame you for this." She told the man as she stormed off to get started on the contract she now had to draft. Half way up the stair case she remembered a comment the other woman had made in passing.

"Kirei do you know anything about this Incantatorius family? She mentioned that her name normally warranted some sort of recognition."

"Unfortunately I am as much in the dark as you are on this issue Rin. The name sounds familiar but for the life of me I cannot tell you where I may have heard it. I will have some of my old contacts look into them though if you like."

"That will do nicely thank you." The only thing the girl hated more than having to ask that man for anything is when she has to show gratitude to him. Not waiting for a reply that she knew wasn't coming anyway, she continued her trip up to her study to begin drafting the contract. She needed things to be in her favor without appearing like she was trying to cheat the other party.

The priest in turn quietly watched as the girl made her exit. Once his charge was no longer in sight, his features darken significantly. He couldn't help but wonder who this new mystery woman was and how she was related to the now deceased Magus Killer. He would have to find out more about her and her family lest she inadvertently ruin his plans for the future.

**A/N: And there we have it folks another exciting chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out but Fan Fiction is currently very low on my long list of time consuming priorities. As for the chapter please let me know if any of the characters seem too out of character at this point. I expect them to change over time but I want it to be gradual and logical as it happens. Also let me know if I messed up any of the terminology. Aside from my OC and her family I want to stay pretty well in the lines of the original game's mechanics. Also feel free to point out any grammar or spelling issues. I don't have a beta and am sure I missed a few. **

**Second A/N: I went back in here and tidied up a few sections and fixed a couple of factual errors with the characters' stories. If anyone knows the rough outline of a typical Japanese school schedule or Shirō's schedule would you please share it with me in a Review or PM? Also, one of the things I fixed in this chapter was having Shirō and Rin be in the same middle school which they weren't. I could also use the names of the schools they went to as kids just to make things as factual as possible. I would also appreciate any other helpful hints or reminders that people tend to screw up on due to cultural differences. **


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